This invention relates to apparatus for preventing card counting in blackjack, and more particularly to shields on a blackjack table which obstruct each player's view of at least one other player's cards.
Blackjack is a widely known game of skill which is often played in gambling casinos and the like. The game may be played with one or more decks of fifty-two cards, and several players may play against the dealer, who plays for the casino, at any given time.
A relatively low number of cards are used for each hand, and the deck is not shuffled following each play. By counting some of the cards which have been played, a player may calculate the general composition of the remaining unplayed cards. For example, by counting the number of tens which have been played and the total number of cards, a player may calculate the percentage of tens in the unplayed cards.
Generally, of course, the odds of winning favor the casino. However, when the pack of unplayed cards includes a disproportionately high number of tens and aces, the player has a slight advantage.
Skilled players have developed various systems for counting cards as they are played to determine whether the pack includes a disproportionately high number of tens and aces. When this occurs, the players generally bet more than they would otherwise, because the odds are favorable. Players who are proficient card-counters have won thousands of dollars using such card-counting systems.
Most gambling casinos employ people known as checkers to observe blackjack games and identify players who may be counting cards or cheating. The checkers often view the games through the ceiling or from catwalks above the game table. If they detect a card-counter, the card-counter may be barred from the game.
Checkers cannot always identify card-counters, and the legality of barring players from the game for card-counting is unclear. Thus, there is a need to prevent card-counting in blackjack games, without relying on a checker or barring players from the game.
Card-counting could be prevented by adding a rule which forbids it. To enforce the rule, however, other rules would have to be changed, as well. Many players would not play the game for a period of time if the rules were changed substantially, which would result in a loss to the casino. Thus, there is a need for apparatus which prevents card-counting in blackjack games without substantially changing the rules of the game.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide apparatus for preventing card-counting in blackjack games without relying on a checker.
Another object is to provide apparatus for preventing card-counting in blackjack games without barring players from the game.
Yet another object is to provide apparatus for preventing card-counting in blackjack games without substantially changing the rules of the game.
Still another object is to provide a shield which obstructs each player's view of the cards of at least one other player, without obstructing each player's view of the dealer's cards, the dealer's view of each of the players' cards, or a checker's view of the game.